SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Southern Illinois women's basketball team turned the ball over a season-high 31 times and gave up 26 offensive rebounds in an 81-61 loss to Missouri State Sunday afternoon.

"I would just like to see what happens if we take better care of the ball," said SIU head coach Missy Tiber. "If you would have told me we would turn the ball over 31 times and still have 61 points, I would have said you are crazy. If we just took care of the ball and didn't have the senseless turnovers, I think we make it much more of a game."

The Salukis (7-19, 3-12 MVC) stuck with the Lady Bears (18-6, 11-3 MVC) through the early minutes of the game before point guard Cartaesha Macklin was forced to the bench with foul trouble. The game was knotted at 9-9 when Macklin was whistled for her second charge foul and taken out of the game at the 15:33 mark.

With Macklin out of the lineup, MSU mounted a 9-3 run to pull ahead 18-12 at the 12:37 mark. The Salukis briefly pulled back within 18-15, but the Lady Bears continued to roll throughout the rest of the half before taking a 44-28 lead into the locker room.

"Somewhere around the 9-9 mark, I felt pretty good about us. We were doing things well," Tiber said. "(Having Macklin out) changes us definitely."

MSU's 44 first-half points were the third-most the Salukis have allowed in an opening period this season and were the most they have surrendered in Valley play. SIU turned the ball over 17 times and gave up 14 offensive boards in the first half alone.

"Most of them are unforced (turnovers) in a half-court set," Tiber said. "We just need to be mentally tougher and just take better care of the ball."

Southern hit a free throw and a layup out of the locker room to cut the deficit to 13, but that is as close as the Salukis would draw the rest of the night. The Bears responded with a 6-0 run to push the margin to 19 points three and-a-half minutes into the half.

The Salukis continued to struggle keeping MSU off the offensive glass in the second half, and Southern was also whistled for 14 second-half fouls. Luckily, the Bears struggled from the free throw line. Despite getting eight more attempts than the Salukis (31-23), MSU made two fewer free throws (17-19).

MSU pushed the advantage as high as 23 points midway through the second half before cruising to the 20-point victory, avenging a loss to the Salukis from earlier in the season. The Bears have won eight straight since losing to SIU January 19 in Carbondale.

Cartaesha Macklin posted her second consecutive double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Southern. Macklin matched a career high with 12 made free throws on 13 attempts. She also took over as SIU's leading scorer with 439 points for the season.

Also for the Salukis, Teri Oliver added 14 points and five boards while Jordyn Courier added nine points. Casey Garrison scored 17 points to lead MSU, despite shooting with her left hand due to an injury to her natural right shooting hand.

The Salukis have a week until their next game when SIU hosts Evansville February 26 at SIU Arena. The Salukis close the season with three consecutive home games.

"It's difficult when you are not winning as many games as you would like. But you have to stay strong and focused and have a true understanding of what the mission is," Tiber said. "We have three home games left. Our goal and our mission is to win all three. I think we are capable of winning all three at home."